New Waters
by Mary Celiris
Summary: Phoenix travels to London, where he meets a challenging case and an even more intriguing rival. Sherlock finds a fascinating case being investigated by none other than Phoenix Wright.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't until Phoenix travelled to London that he realized just how dull British court cases could be. He was sound asleep when the judge slammed his gavel hard, signaling the end of what had quickly become an uneventful murder trial.

"Thank you all. We will reconvene tomorrow!"

That's all Phoenix caught on the first day of the trial, and he only heard it because of a rude awakening from the gavel. "Oh… great…" Phoenix muttered as he raised his head, watching the courtroom empty out. Beside him, Maya was pulsing in anger.

"PHOENIX! Can you believe that prosecutor? He just stood there and laughed at the poor kid on the stand! He was so insensitive, and the defense attorney didn't do anything!"

Trying to come up with something mildly intelligent to say, Phoenix turned to Maya. His drowsiness must have shown, because before he could even open his mouth to speak, Maya's anger changed course entirely.

"Don't tell me you slept through the whole thing Phoenix! You needed to pay attention! How are you going to take this case if you don't have any clue what the witnesses just said?"

Phoenix was still waking up from his untimely nap, but he knew that Maya had a point. There was a real chance that the case would be dumped on him since the attorney originally assigned to the case lacked experience of any kind. The attorney had graduated law school only weeks beforehand, and the fact that his name still eluded Phoenix was a testament to the new attorney's inability to handle an important case like this.

"Maya… I'm sure they keep…. Court records here in England."

"Well you'd better hope they do, because based off of how today went… the defense is going to want a new lead attorney!"

Phoenix sighed, slumping back into his seat. This trip was going to take much longer than he had hoped.

* * *

Meanwhile at 221B Baker Street:

After almost an entire week without an interesting case, Sherlock was getting restless, and John could tell. "How about we take Mrs. Reed's case?" he suggested, trying to stumble upon something that intrigued his friend.

"No, she obviously suffers from delusions. Her first account of the 'mysterious visitor' in her apartment was drastically different from the second, and if we are holding to the fact that she is doing her very best to tell us the truth in both accounts, which I'd imagine she is, then there is little to discuss."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Still, it would be our first case in a while."

Sherlock didn't look at John as he got up from his chair and began to pace. "No, it wouldn't be a real case because there's no real case there. We'll stumble upon something interesting eventually… Or with some actual luck, something interesting will come to us!" With those last words, Sherlock's face seemed to light up.

Seemingly on cue, Mrs. Hudson walked in to scold the two. "Why are you boys dawdling about again? Don't you have something you should be working on?" She crossed her arms as if it made her appear more intimidating. Sherlock and John smiled innocently enough, and Sherlock gave a simple explanation for their idleness.

"We are in between cases Mrs. Hudson, but we hope to find another soon."

Mrs. Hudson waved them off as she walked out of the room, but even she could see that Sherlock needed a new case soon. Fortunately the week was just beginning, so it was likely that a new case would reach 221B Baker Street before long.

* * *

Phoenix sat in a sea of papers that stretched from one end of his makeshift desk to the other. _I see what Maya was talking about… this case really is more complicated than you'd expect. There were two suspects grabbed from the scene of the murder, but neither has any real motive to kill the victim… or at least neither appears to._

Before Phoenix could make sense of any of the case, Maya came into the room. She was still a bit suspicious that Phoenix would be asleep at his desk, so she entered quietly, hoping to catch him in the act. To her relief, Phoenix was still wide-awake and looking over the case.

"I hope you bring good news… Can we go home now?" Phoenix asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Sadly, no. You've been made the lead defense attorney for the case, just as we expected."

"Well, at least they know there's no one better for the job!" Phoenix grinned at Maya, his ego suddenly taking hold.

"Actually, although it hurts me to tell you this, the family came to you because you were one of only two attorneys who would even take the case. The defendant is… widely disliked around here."

Phoenix looked a bit hurt, but he laughed it off. "Well, it's a good thing I agreed to take the case then. The other attorney didn't seem to know what he was doing."

"Phoenix… he wasn't the one sleeping during the trial."

At this comment, Phoenix froze. His smile faded as he thought for a moment. Then he rose, putting his hands on the table. Papers scattered everywhere, many of them falling to the floor as he spoke with determination:

"Enough of that! I will not be sleeping through this case! I'm perfectly wide-awake, and will be for the rest of the trial!" _As long as the rest isn't as dull as the first day was…_

Maya smiled as she finally saw the determination that made Phoenix such a good attorney. _We'll see about that Phoenix…_


	2. Chapter 2

Much to John and Mrs. Hudson's relief, Tuesday brought with it a new case. Delivered to Baker Street that morning was a letter from an unknown sender. It was torn in the bottom right corner, which only Sherlock seemed to understand. He read the letter out loud so that John could digest what Sherlock's mind had already figured out.

_One dead. _

_I send this so there will be no more. Contact P. Wright._

When he was finished reading the letter, Sherlock turned to John and grinned triumphantly. "And with those few words, we have a case!"

It didn't take long for John to catch on to that, but he wondered about the missing corner. "That we do. But you wouldn't happen to have an idea why the corner is torn, would you?"

Sherlock chuckled at the question, amused at the fact that John would ask it. He held the letter up so that John could see, and asked the simple question: "What's missing from this letter? Something that would normally go-" Sherlock points to the torn end, "right here?" With such a simple explanation, John was slightly embarrassed.

"A signature."

"Yes, a signature John. And since it's been torn off, we can assume that the sender no longer wants us to know his identity."

"Well, do you know who the sender might be?"

Sherlock set the letter down and turned back to John with a huge smile on his face. "Absolutely no idea. But we know where to start!"

He had heard the name on the letter before. P. Wright, or if his suspicions were correct, Phoenix Wright, was an egotistical defense attorney that had made quite a name for himself by solving cases as well as exonerating his clients from all charges. Sherlock remembered that Wright had been a part of a few large-scale mysteries a while back, but he didn't think much of the attorney at the time.

Sherlock was intrigued at the letter's suggestion however, and wasted no time. "John, I think we ought to pay Mr. Wright a visit. Ready?"

"Always."

* * *

For Phoenix, that entire morning was spent trying to get ahold of the investigation. _There are two suspects. Both dined with the victim the night of her death, and both were arrested shortly afterwards. Neither had any political motivation for- _

"PHOENIX!"

His concentration was broken abruptly by Maya, who had been trying to grab his attention for quite some time.

"You have visitors! And they won't wait long before-"

"No, we won't." Sherlock entered the room briskly, quite pleased with the disturbance he had caused. He was accompanied by John, and took up as little time as he could walking to Phoenix's desk before stopping right in front of it. He seemed to examine Phoenix for a moment, his eyes scanning over the key aspects of Phoenix's desk and disposition. _His arms are tucked under his desk. That's very unusual for a confident and experienced lawyer. Since his papers are scattered so messily, I can see why._

Hoping to make this encounter a short one, Sherlock asked, "Mr. Wright, is it?"

"Um… yeah, that's-"

"Excellent. You have a case that you need help with, and I take it the disastrous mess of papers on your desk is that case." Sherlock took a good look at the state of Phoenix's desk and moved on. "You have a complete lack of suspects for the murder, since there are no two documents or pictures here with any real connection to each other. So far, some excellent work Mr. Wright." Sherlock scoffed.

"Wait a-"

"No no, don't speak. With every new word out of your mouth, my opinion of your competence drops substantially." John couldn't help but smile at the remark, but Phoenix sat there for a moment with a very confused look on his face. It didn't take long for Sherlock to continue. "Now, my address is 221B Baker Street. Send me what you have of the case. I'm going to look through it, and I'll investigate the murder." Sherlock had turned away and begun walking back toward the door, John trailing behind him, when he called out to Phoenix again. "After that, you can go back to doing… whatever it is attorneys like you do."

Phoenix was shocked. It took him a few minutes to fully process what had just happened, and by the time it struck him, Sherlock had already left. Maya was standing in front of him now, furious.

"How could he come in here without even a notice, and say THAT?" "Who does this man think he is?"

By now Phoenix had regained his senses, and was a bit irritated himself. Irritated, but very curious. "Hmm, I don't know. Did he give a name?"

"No, he didn't! He walked right in without giving one!"

Phoenix thought for a moment, but he didn't recognize the man. He knew the man had an authority about him and seemed extremely condescending, so perhaps he did police or detective work. _He certainly took an interest to this case… There must be something that I'm missing here._

"Well I'm not sure. He's probably a detective of some sort though, judging from how interested he was in seeing my case," Phoenix concluded. "That reminds me, we'd better get down to the courtroom for the second day of this trial!"

Maya turned worried at this sudden enthusiasm from Phoenix. "Phoenix… do you even know what you're going to say?"

"Not really, no. But I'm really good at making it up as I go along!" He gave Maya a big smile, which only increased her concern. Phoenix didn't give her any time to respond however, as it only took him a moment to transform his mess of papers into one stack, which he placed in his briefcase. "Let's go!" he shouted, already heading for the door.

* * *

Even before the judge's gavel first came down, Sherlock realized this was going to be an extremely dull trial. The entire courtroom seemed to be in slow motion for the proceedings, and there weren't many intelligent faces in the crowd. Sherlock passed the time by analyzing each person on the jury and in the audience. _So boring,_ Sherlock thought. _We'd solve this case so much quicker with just a short investigation. _

The defense attorney didn't seem to have done much investigating himself, since most of what he said directly contradicted common sense.

"THAT'S FALSE!"

The whole courtroom, with the exception of Sherlock, turned to hear what Phoenix had to say.

"And why is the witness's story false Mr. Wright?" the judge asked.

"Because… it just doesn't add up! He says that he saw the victim, who he describes as a woman around age 30, dead only hours after the incident. The victim wasn't 30 years old at the time! She was 35!"

After this remark Sherlock lost all hope. "John, perhaps we should look into another case. This man is a true imbecile." Even John couldn't help but agree.

The judge responded logically, but the damage was already done. "Mr. Wright… I believe the witness was being polite. The victim's appearance and her actual age may not be exactly the same..."

With this, Phoenix sat back down out of embarrassment. _Oh yeah… I should've thought of that…_

The rest of the trial proved to be just as boring and unhelpful to Phoenix and Sherlock in solving the case as the first day was, and so both left the courtroom with the same conclusion: _British court cases really are dull._

As much as it frustrated Phoenix, he knew that his defense was going nowhere. His defendant knew the victim personally, so it was difficult to explain to the jury exactly why he'd been discovered near the body after the murder. Still, Phoenix knew his client was innocent, and was absolutely determined to prove it. _As much as I hate to say it… there's definitely something I'm missing._

He knew he'd need time to figure out a proper defense, so he asked the judge to delay the next day of the trial.

The judge took a moment before deciding, but eventually agreed another couple days would be for the best. "Seeing as the defense's counsel has been entirely replaced, I agree that some time may help to clear matters up."

Phoenix was relieved that he had some more time to investigate, but he knew that there were some aspects of the case that just wouldn't line up for him. He and Maya were just about to return to their temporary London office when Sherlock and John approached from behind.

"Excuse me Mr. Wright, but I don't believe I've received your case materials yet."

Maya and Phoenix turned around to see who had spoken, and Maya was furious.

"YOU again? What is it you-"

Phoenix put his hand on Maya's shoulder. "Maya, it's alright." _As much as I detest the idea…_ "We could use some help with this investigation. I'll make sure to have the materials delivered by tonight, but please be patient." Maya was amazed at this sudden shift in Phoenix's attitude, but it didn't surprise Sherlock.

He smiled smugly. _Mr. Wright knows he made a complete fool of himself today. Still, at least he isn't quite as egotistical as I imagined he'd be._ "Excellent. There's nothing left to discuss then. Have a nice day Mr. Wright." With that, Sherlock called for a cab.

Maya, determined to figure out who this mysterious man was, decided it was time to ask. "Excuse me!" she called to Sherlock before he could get away. "Who exactly are you?" Phoenix didn't try to stop her. It was about time they got a name from the man.

Sherlock turned around just as a taxi pulled up to the curb. John got in right away, but Sherlock waited a moment. Smiling, he answered the question before stepping into the taxi himself. "The name is Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes."


	3. Chapter 3

Phoenix held true to his word and delivered the case to Sherlock later that day. It all fit nicely into a briefcase, so it wasn't difficult for Phoenix to deliver it personally. He showed up at the address, 221B Baker Street, not quite sure what to expect.

John answered the door and led Phoenix to the room where Sherlock sat waiting. "Ah, excellent!" Sherlock exclaimed as he saw Phoenix coming in. He stood up as quickly as he could, and instructed Phoenix to set the case down on a nearby table. "Now, let's take a look at what you have Mr. Wright." Sherlock rushed to where Phoenix had placed the briefcase, and wasted no time prying open its secrets. He pulled out several formal allegations and complaints, and tossed them on the floor behind him.

"Um, excuse me-" Phoenix began, but he didn't manage to finish before Sherlock interrupted.

"We won't be needing those. Gosh, court documents are so dull. Can't they just get to the point?"

Phoenix was a bit surprised, but he couldn't help but agree. After pulling out most of the papers from the briefcase, Sherlock looked everything over. He was particularly interested in the photographs taken of the suspects and the crime scene, and within a few seconds or so he had the pictures all organized and laid out before him.

_The victim was poisoned the night of her death, and the two arrested suspects both dined with her that night… Neither suspect made an attempt to hide or conceal where he was that evening when questioned, so we can conclude that both feel confident in their alibis. _Noticing the arrogant stance and condescending look of both suspects in their photos, Sherlock made his observation out loud.

"They're both lawyers, so I would imagine they don't have much fear of legal prosecution." Sherlock looked away for a moment, and ran through several possible scenarios in his head before coming to the exciting conclusion that this case was just as interesting as he had hoped. "If either of them actually committed the murder, then he must have assumed it would be easy to frame the other, since both were going to meet the victim at around the same time."

Phoenix had grown slightly worried as he watched Sherlock deep in thought, but he breathed a sigh of relief as Sherlock began to speak. "Then they were both wrong, weren't they?" Phoenix asked.

"Maybe. I'd like to think there's more to it than that." Sherlock shifted slightly in order to better examine the suspects' photos.

"Should we speak to the suspects, so we can get a better understanding of their stories?"

Sherlock waved Phoenix's suggestion aside without a second thought. "You don't get anywhere by speaking, Mr. Wright. A person's behavior will tell you everything you need to know."

"So you plan on spying instead?" Phoenix asked, skeptical of Sherlock's methods.

"Merely… observing. I believe that will reveal the truth."

* * *

The next day, Sherlock and John did exactly that. They went to the scene of the murder, a popular local restaurant named "The Garden," and decided to have a meal. The police had long since concluded their investigation of the area, so the restaurant was once again bustling with activity.

"A table for two please," John told the receptionist. It didn't take long before they were sat down at a small corner table, where they immediately began discussing the murder. It was a very one-sided discussion, as most were with Sherlock, but John did his best to keep up. The table they sat at gave the two a great vantage point, as they could see the rest of the busy restaurant. Sherlock paid great attention to the activity of the whole building. Waiters and restaurant attendants traversed the rows of tables, often carrying either menus or food for the twenty or so customers, and Sherlock kept track of which waiters were the quickest, and which were the slowest.

The fastest was a young man by the name of Jeremiah, who from what Sherlock gathered, spent little time listening to the customers' orders, and rushed from table to table. He had little time for anyone, and often misheard orders in his haste. The slowest was a much older man by the name of Jacob. Jacob seemed to take much more time at each table, and often engaged in short conversations with the customers. Sherlock knew that if anyone knew the customers at The Garden, it would be Jacob, so he made a point to observe the man whenever possible.

Jeremiah was Sherlock and John's waiter, which allowed Sherlock to gather a more complete picture of him. "Hello gentlemen, what can I get for you today?" Jeremiah briefly looked up at the two before his eyes went down to his notepad, and they didn't come up again until he left the table.

"Two coffees please, and a cube of sugar for each," John told him. Jeremiah made a small note, smiled briefly, and was off before either John or Sherlock could say another word. "Interesting chap," John commented.

"Maybe. He won't be here for long though."

"Why not?" John knew the answer, but sometimes it was better to hear it from Sherlock.

"He's terrible at his job, and someone is bound to complain."

"Fair enough. But how does that help us?"

"Well, he'll be rather desperate for money afterwards. So all we have to do is wait."

Sherlock knew it would take a substantial amount of time for anyone to file a formal complaint, so he took it upon himself. He had the letter entirely crafted in his mind in a matter of seconds.

"Perhaps, but don't you think that time is something we don't have a whole lot of right now?" John asked Sherlock, not completely sure what his plan was.

"Precisely why we're speeding up the process!" Sherlock didn't waste any time before reciting his entire letter to John, who agreed that it was convincing enough to get any poor waiter fired.

* * *

That morning, Phoenix began an investigation of his own. He knew that Sherlock intended on "observing" the people around the murder scene, mainly restaurant regulars and employees, but Phoenix couldn't help but think that a more direct approach would prove more effective. "That _detective_ is infuriating! He thinks he knows this case better than I do!" Phoenix was half yelling at Maya, and half yelling to know one in particular, but he stopped short of saying what he actually thought. _He really does know this case better than I do…_

Still, Phoenix was determined to discover the truth behind the case himself, and so he and Maya headed to the detention center to speak with the defendant. When they arrived, the two found their client to be rather unresponsive.

"Hello there Mr. Knumel, how are you today?"

"Well, wouldn't you like to know?" He retorted.

"As a matter of fact, as your lawyer, I most certainly do."

The man, sitting across from Sherlock with a scowl on his face and both arms crossed, took a long pause before bothering to answer. "You can figure that out for yourself." Phoenix sighed. He knew this was going to be difficult.

Luckily, Maya came prepared. She pulled out two photos and shoved them onto the desk in front of Mr. Knumel before either he or Phoenix could react.

"Well Mr. Knumel, if you know either of these people, and I suspect you know both of them quite well by now, you'd better tell us, because otherwise you'll be found guilty in a heartbeat. I don't think I have to tell you how non-existent your defense is right now."

Mr. Knumel grunted in frustration, but he reluctantly turned his eyes downward to look at the photos. One was of the victim, but he spent little time on the picture because it immediately made him uncomfortable. Instead, he examined the other picture Maya had laid out: a photo of Mr. Knumel and the other suspect Phoenix and Maya knew about shaking hands.

"Well… I guess I know him." Mr. Knumel pointed at the other suspect, but didn't care to elaborate.

"That's an improvement. Now how do you know him?" Phoenix gave Maya a wink to show his appreciation.

"He was… a partner in the past. Not anymore though."

"On a case?"

"Exactly. A very unpleasant one too. He's not a guy I would want to meet in a dark alley. Now can we move on?"

Phoenix knew he had to find a way to get Mr. Knumel to say more. He sat back in his chair for a moment, thinking of how to get at the information he needed. Maya turned and whispered in his ear, and his eyes lit up. "Thanks," he whispered back.

"Mr Knumel," Phoenix began. "No we can't. Because you're keeping important information from us."

The man scoffed before looking slightly irritated. "Yeah, and how do you figure that?"

Phoenix tried to hide his slight smile as he spoke. "Two things. First of all, you are extremely quick to change the subject." Phoenix took out the defendant's statement he had given earlier in the trial. "Also, you said in your statement that you had not met this 'partner' of yours before this trial, which we now know isn't true.

Mr. Knumel gave Phoenix a look of absolute loathing. He didn't say a word, but Phoenix knew that he had the man right where he wanted him.

"Care to explain?" Phoenix antagonized.

After a glance of disgust, the man finally gave in. "Fine. He's a sleazy, double-dealing lawyer with no regard for the welfare of anyone but himself. I met him on what began as a very straightforward case, but by the end of it, he had twisted the facts so much that not even I could differentiate the opinions of his witnesses from the truths of the case. Happy now?"

"Yes, actually I am. That was surprisingly helpful Mr. Knumel, thank you." Maya and Phoenix left shortly afterward, but now the two knew exactly the sort of person they were up against.

* * *

Later that day, Maya and John met to discuss what they had found. Phoenix was "indisposed," or so he told Maya, and Sherlock couldn't be bothered with sharing his information.

John gave Maya an awkward smile as he tried to begin. "Well… we haven't found much yet. Tomorrow Sherlock and I are going to pay the one of the waiters a little visit, and he should be able to tell us quite a bit. What have you two come up with so far?"

"We know that we're going to have a hard time getting a straight story from any of the witnesses." Maya paused, not sure if Phoenix would want her to continue or not. She bit her lip for a moment, before John interrupted.

"If we're going to work together Maya, you should get used to telling me what you find."

"But-"

"I can tell from that expression that you have information you don't know if you want to share. I can't force you to tell me, but this case will be difficult if you don't trust me a little bit."

Maya sighed, and hoped Phoenix wouldn't mind. "Yes… Sorry. Phoenix wants to investigate the evidence tomorrow. He suspects that, based on something Mr. Knumel told us, the evidence has been tampered with. If so, Phoenix aims to find out.

John took a moment to register the information, and then he smiled. Standing up, he shook Maya's hand firmly. "Thank you. I agree with Phoenix then. It sounds like a good plan."

Maya was relieved to hear that. After shaking hands, John began to head back to Baker street. Not before sending a slight wink Maya's way, which she didn't know what to make of. Either way, tomorrow was going to be interesting for the both of them.


End file.
